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13 July 2012

How to write Goals .. & stick to them

If you had to describe yourself in 3
words, 3 words that summed you up as an individual perfectly, what would you
say? It’s hard isn’t it? For me, I couldn’t tell you any more than one word - ok
technically it’s two but you get the picture - and that is… I’m a goal setter. A
massive goal setter. I truly believe that setting goals coupled with some
hardwork can equal a life that is constantly enriched and exciting. And why
not? It means that you are constantly striving towards things that you want,
taking some control over a seemingly unpredictable world and achieving things
you otherwise might have thought impossible - although I don’t believe in that
word. Along with my 25 things I want to do before 25 goals, I have personal
goals, financial goals, career goals and contribution goals - I told you I was a
goal setter - and have so far achieved every goal I’ve ever set. With this in
mind, and forever wanting to help others achieve their own dreams, here are my
tips for setting your own goals (sticking to them!).

1. Think big

If you think the sky is your
limit you’re not thinking big enough. Whenever I sit down to do a goal writing
session I leave all my doubts and inhibitions at the door and for however many
minutes I’m writing, I think as big as my mind will take me. If you are limiting
your goals from the start, imagine how else you will limit yourself when trying
to achieve them. I’m not saying be unrealistic either. Writing “To win lotto”
or “become a millionaire in 2 weeks” is obviously not realistic. Putting a goal
however of “having a million in the bank (not just assets) within 10 years
time” is a great goal to have and a lot more realistic, and it’s still thinking
big.

2. Write them down

I cannot emphasise this, or say
it more simply. WRITE.THEM.DOWN. A goal is not a goal until you have written
that sucker down. Writing them down, for me, makes them real and gives you
something visual to remind yourself with daily. It also forces you to put in to
writing what the actual goal is, giving you clarity, focus and most importantly,
direction. So what are you waiting for? Get a pad and a pen & make your goal a realisation.

3. Make sure they’re your goals

I think this is so so important
and something people & society and books don’t place enough emphasise on.
What I mean by your goals is just that. YOUR goals. Not your parents, not your
partners, not society’s goals – but yours. If your parents (& society)
think you should have gotten a degree by now but all you want to do is travel
the world? Then GREAT (& well done on knowing what you want). Write “travel
the world” down, not “get a degree”.

4. Don’t doubt your goals – not even for a second

There is nothing worse to the
subconscious, the conscious and offensive to the universe – than doubting your
goals (& yourself). If you are writing your goals thinking “yeah right there’s
no way I’m going to actually achieve this” then guess what your mind is going
to do? Find all the ways of NOT achieving that goal. Instead, why not get
excited and picture actually achieving your goal – the feelings you’ll have and what it might look like – your brain will
instantly start to think of all the ways you CAN achieve the goal. Of course,
you’re allowed to be nervous, you have huge goals after all remember! But use
those nerves positively and don’t let any doubt creep in – anything and
everything is possible.

How to stick to your goals….

5. Plan the first step to achieving the goal – break it down.

For every major goal you have,
there are lot’s and lot’s of tiny goals that have to first be met before you
can achieve the big one. So break it down. What I do is write the big goal at
the top of the page, then write the steps I’ll need to take to get there. I
want to have bought a house before I’m 26? (But haven’t started saving yet?) It
would look like this:

OWN MY OWN HOME:

1. Open a first home buyers home deposit bank account.

2. Deposit my first $500 in to it.

3. Research homes I want to buy realistically to work out the amont of
deposit I need (i.e. require 20% deposit for home loan, $400 000 house =
$80,000) EASY!

4. Organise $xxx of pay to be automatically deducted from pay each
week & put in to savings account straight away.

4. Ask for a payrise

5. Save my first $20,000 & celebrate

…..

& so on & so forth. See how breaking it down in to smaller
goals makes the bigger goal seem less daunting? It’s EASY to set up a first
home buyers bank account, and EASY to start putting bits of money away. By
breaking it down I am ticking off smaller goals and working towards my big
goal, with huge satisfaction.

GOOD LUCK!!!! What are some big
goals you’ve set in your life that have either already come true, or you’re
excited about in the future?

15 comments:

Your advices are so helpful, I keep some of your posts saved in my bookmarks to take my time to read them later. It's truly like hearing a big sister talking to me, your words are so encouraging and wise I had to say it, thank you for that.

Oh Emmanuella I can't say how touched I am by your comment - truly I am. I know that long and wordy blog pieces are uncommon as it's rare we have the time to actually sit & read the full post (I'm just as guilty don't worry!). So it means so much to hear that you actually put it somewhere to read them later. I am honored you feel like it's a big sister giving you advice - you inspire me to keep writing xxx

Yes that is another great tip...to share it, then your supported and a little more accountabble x P.s thank you lovely, I always write from the heart so as long as my heart keeps speaking to me I'll keep writing x